For as far as I can remember fashion has been a powerful tool for relaying social messages. Social and political activism often has a fashion slant which is remembered long after the event.
Joan Of Arc (1425)
When divine voices urged Joan to fight for France, which had been captured by England during the Hundred Years’ War, she cut her hair and dressed in men’s clothes to avoid inevitable assault if she was dressed as a woman. Upon her ill fated capture the English charged her with 70 crimes among them were, heresy, witchcraft, and you guessed it - dressing like a man. Shown the stake where she was to be burned, she recanted in fear and promised to give herself over to the church’s authority, start dressing like a woman, and accept life imprisonment. However, this was short lived and soon she reverted to dressing like a man. When asked why, her response was “Nobody has forced me; I prefer the apparel of a man to that of a woman.”. She was executed two days later. Her relentlessness in the face of death bound her first to the memory of the world - eventually earning her the title of a patron saint of France. Her memory lives on in clothing, a medium that led to her death, perpetually honouring her sacrifice for what she believed in.
Women’s Suffrage Movement (1900's)
To demand their right to vote, the suffragettes were able to use fashion as a political and campaign tool, which at a time was innovative. They used it to advocate their cause, emphasizing a feminine appearance. Fashion styles became very suitable to the message that they tried to convey. Breaking away from traditional expectations, they chose instead to present themselves as strong and independent women. From the big Victorian restrictive dresses to more comfortable, streamlined outfits, the Women’s Suffrage Movement changed women’s clothing. Until then, the social patriarchy labeled women, making them wear what men considered attractive. Women started to wear trousers that ”they were not supposed to wear,” highlighting a new era of women’s places in society. The super-tight Victorian corsets had been replaced with looser styles that allowed more freedom of movement. The tailored suit as well as the wide skirt-and-blouse look was associated with suffragettes bringing about the first wave of feminism in the US.
Feminist Power And The Mini Skirt Revolution (1960's)
The mini-skirt was interpreted as a rebellious form of political activism. The continuous disappointment of women for the patriarchal system, from voting to employment discrimination, led them to wear skirts with shorter hemlines as a sign of women’s liberation.
In the 1960s, women protested to de-stigmatize mini-skirts. Mary Quant was a revolutionary fashion designer that had a great impact on fashion history. She was credited with designing the first mini-skirt, reflecting the present desire for a change. Youngsters felt they no longer needed to follow the rules of bourgeois morality and manners, which they saw as hypocritical and based on double standards. As this young political entity gained a voice, they created a space for a new and distinctive fashion that embodied their own political views.
Hippies And The Anti-Vietnam War (1960's -1970's)
A number of middle-class young people growing up in the late 1950s felt that they did not fit into accepted society. Not only did their futures seem planned out for them, with office jobs for the men and motherhood and housework for the women, but those futures also seemed boring and suffocating. In addition, there was an expanding war in Vietnam, and young men were being drafted into the army. By the late 1960s young people who wanted peace and personal freedom began to gather together to express their views they were called hippies. The Hippies not only opposed the war but they also advocated communal living at a time when communism was the country’s ideological enemy. As a symbol of the non-violent ideology, hippies dressed in colorful clothes, bell-bottom pants, tie-dye patterns, paisley prints, and black armbands all of which rejected the status quo of the time. Clothing and fashion were a big part of Hippie’s self-identification. Rebelling against corporate culture meant making clothes or buying cheaply at thrift shops and military surplus stores, so clothes were often ragged and patched or embroidered. Flowered clothing and embroidery were popular, and flowers became an important hippie symbol because hippies revered and felt connected to nature. "Flower power" was a term used to describe the hippie movement, and it was not uncommon for hippies at antiwar demonstrations to give flowers to police and soldiers, even placing flowers in the muzzles of their guns.
The Protest Logo T-shirt (1980's)
It was 1984 when the British fashion designer Katharine Hamnett was invited to London fashion week with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Although Hamnett didn’t plan to go as she despised spatter politics, she eventually showed up wearing a slogan t-shirt that she had made at the very last minute. The goal behind this was to awaken the general public and even generate some action. The slogan itself has in most times a purpose to fulfill.
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